A happy story that got sad
Once upon a time, there was an old former dictator. Being a dictator can be hard, but this dictator, like most, managed to make a good living while dictating. One day, this dictator realized he had to put all him money somewhere.
"I have all this money," he said to himself in Spanish. "It won't fit under my bed. It won't fit in my closet. I must find a better place." And so he began to look.
He looked high, and he looked low. He looked near, and he looked far. After many days of disappointment, the old dictator finally found the perfect place for his hard-earned money. It was a bank in the most important city in the whole world. "Welcome to Riggs Bank, the most important bank in the most important city in the whole world, Washington, DC," said the bank manager to the old dictator, probably in English.
And welcome him they did. Banks like it when well-to-do people decide to leave them their hard-earned money. It allows them to lend money to people who need to do silly things with it, like buy houses and send children to college, and then the people pay the bank the money they borrowed plus more money. This money helps the bank executives live well and buy more things, which makes them happy. So when the old dictator decided to leave between $4 million and $8 million with the bank, there were smiles all around!
But they had to be secret smiles. Because the old dictator wasn't liked by everyone. Some people had sad feelings about the old dictator's military coup and subsequent iron-fisted rule. However, as the men in the bank pointed out, that happened in the past, and it happened far away. And everybody deserves a place to put their money, don't they?
So the men at the bank wrote on papers that the old dictator was a "retired professional" who held a "high paying position in public sector for many years." And it was all true! But some other people found out about the old dictator and his bank account, and they got very, very angry. "That old dictator killed lots of people," they said, "and you men at the bank knew it, and still you took his money!"
"Well," the men at the bank said. "You see," they explained. "But," objected the old dictator. However, it was clear that their explanations, though thorough, would not be enough. There was going to be trouble for the important bank and the old dictator.
The rest of the story is too sad to write here, but if you must find out how it ends, go to this story page.
"I have all this money," he said to himself in Spanish. "It won't fit under my bed. It won't fit in my closet. I must find a better place." And so he began to look.
He looked high, and he looked low. He looked near, and he looked far. After many days of disappointment, the old dictator finally found the perfect place for his hard-earned money. It was a bank in the most important city in the whole world. "Welcome to Riggs Bank, the most important bank in the most important city in the whole world, Washington, DC," said the bank manager to the old dictator, probably in English.
And welcome him they did. Banks like it when well-to-do people decide to leave them their hard-earned money. It allows them to lend money to people who need to do silly things with it, like buy houses and send children to college, and then the people pay the bank the money they borrowed plus more money. This money helps the bank executives live well and buy more things, which makes them happy. So when the old dictator decided to leave between $4 million and $8 million with the bank, there were smiles all around!
But they had to be secret smiles. Because the old dictator wasn't liked by everyone. Some people had sad feelings about the old dictator's military coup and subsequent iron-fisted rule. However, as the men in the bank pointed out, that happened in the past, and it happened far away. And everybody deserves a place to put their money, don't they?
So the men at the bank wrote on papers that the old dictator was a "retired professional" who held a "high paying position in public sector for many years." And it was all true! But some other people found out about the old dictator and his bank account, and they got very, very angry. "That old dictator killed lots of people," they said, "and you men at the bank knew it, and still you took his money!"
"Well," the men at the bank said. "You see," they explained. "But," objected the old dictator. However, it was clear that their explanations, though thorough, would not be enough. There was going to be trouble for the important bank and the old dictator.
The rest of the story is too sad to write here, but if you must find out how it ends, go to this story page.
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